Detective fiction is a branch of crime fiction that centers upon the investigation of a crime, usually murder, by a detective, either professional or amateur. Detective fiction is the most popular form of both mystery fiction and hardboiled crime fiction. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with mystery_fiction. ... Gumshoe redirects here. ... Mystery fiction is a distinct subgenre of detective fiction that entails the occurrence of an unknown event which requires the protagonist to make known (or solve). ... Hardboiled crime fiction is a uniquely American style pioneered by Dashiell Hammett, refined by Raymond Chandler, and endlessly imitated since by writers such as Mickey Spillane. ...

Commonly in detective fiction, the investigator has some source of income other than detective work and some undesirable eccentricities or striking characteristics. He or she frequently has a less able assistant (or foil) who acts as an audience surrogate for the explanation of the mystery at the end of the story. For other uses, see foil. ... In the study of literature, an audience surrogate is a character who expresses the questions and confusion of the reader. ...

Beginnings of detective fiction

Daguerreotype of Edgar Allan Poe

One of the earliest examples of detective fiction is Voltaire's Zadig (1748), which features a main character who performs feats of analysis.^[1] The Norwegian crime novel, "Mordet på Maskinbygger Rolfsen" ("The Murder of Engine Maker Rolfsen"), by Maurits Hansen was published in 1839.^[2] Image File history File links Poe10. ... Image File history File links Poe10. ... An 1837 daguerreotype by Daguerre. ... For other uses, see Voltaire (disambiguation). ... Zadig is a famous novel by Voltaire, of a philosophical cast, bearing upon life as in the hands of a destiny beyond our control. ...

However, detective fiction is widely considered to have begun in 1841 with the publication of "The Murders in the Rue Morgue", a short story by Edgar Allan Poe^[1] featuring "the first fictional detective, the eccentric and brilliant C. Auguste Dupin". Poe set up a plot formula that's been successful ever since, give or take a few shifting variables."^[3] Poe followed with further Auguste Dupin tales: "The Mystery of Marie Roget" in 1843, and "The Purloined Letter" in 1844. Poe referred to his stories as "tales of ratiocination".^[1] In stories such as these, the primary concern of the plot is ascertaining truth, and the usual means of obtaining the truth is through a complex and mysterious process combining intuitive logic, astute observation, and perspicacious inference. "Early detective stories tended to follow an investigating protagonist from the first scene to the last, making the unraveling a practical rather than emotional matter."^[3] The Murders in the Rue Morgue is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe first published in Grahams Magazine in 1841. ... Edgar Allan Poe (January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American poet, short story writer, playwright, editor, literary critic, essayist and one of the leaders of the American Romantic Movement. ... C. Auguste Dupin is a fictional detective created by Edgar Allan Poe. ... The Mystery of Marie Roget is a story by Edgar Allan Poe written in 1842. ... The Purloined Letter is one of Edgar Allan Poes detective stories. ...

"The Mystery of Marie Roget" is particularly interesting because it is a barely fictionalized account based on Poe's theory of what happened to the real-life Mary Cecilia Rogers. The style of the analysis, with its attention to forensic detail, makes it a precursor and perhaps inspiration for the stories about the most famous of all fictional detectives, Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes.^[4] Indeed Holmes mentions the Poe story in the first Conan Doyle novel. Forensic pathology is a branch of medicine concerned with determining cause of death, usually for criminal law cases and civil law cases in some jurisdictions. ... Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle, DL (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a Scottish author most noted for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes, which are generally considered a major innovation in the field of crime fiction, and for the adventures of Professor Challenger. ... This article is about Arthur Conan Doyles fictional detective. ...

Another early example of a whodunit is a sub-plot in the vast novel Bleak House (1853) by Charles Dickens. A conniving lawyer Tulkinghorn is killed in his office late one night, and the crime is investigated by Inspector Bucket of the Metropolitan police force. Numerous characters appeared on the staircase leading to Tulkinghorn's office that night, some of them in disguise, and Inspector Bucket must penetrate these mysteries to identify the murderer. Bleak House is the ninth novel by Charles Dickens, published in 20 monthly parts between March 1852 and September 1853. ... Dickens redirects here. ...

Dickens's protégé, Wilkie Collins (1824-1889) — sometimes referred to as the "grandfather of English detective fiction" — is credited with the first great mystery novel, The Woman in White. His novel The Moonstone (1868) was described by T. S. Eliot as "the first and greatest of English detective novels" and by Dorothy L. Sayers as "probably the very finest detective story ever written". Although technically preceded by Charles Felix's The Notting Hill Mystery (1865), The Moonstone can claim to have established the genre with several classic features of the twentieth-century detective story: Wilkie Collins William Wilkie Collins (8 January 1824 – 23 September 1889) was an English novelist, playwright, and writer of short stories. ... For other uses, see The Woman in White. ... For other uses, see Moonstone. ... For other persons named Thomas Eliot, see Thomas Eliot (disambiguation). ... Dorothy Leigh Sayers (Oxford, 13 June 1893 – Witham, 17 December 1957) was a renowned British author, translator, student of classical and modern languages, and Christian humanist. ... Charles Felix The Notting Hill Mystery (1862) is a cross between the crime story and the paranormal sf book. ...

• A country house robbery
• An "inside job"
• A celebrated investigator
• Bungling local constabulary
• Detective enquiries
• False suspects
• The "least likely suspect"
• A rudimentary "locked room" murder
• A reconstruction of the crime
• A final twist in the plot

Some readers have suggested much earlier prototypes for the whodunnit, most notably the Old Testament story of Susanna and the Elders (Daniel 13; in the Protestant Bible this story is found in the apocrypha); "Oedipus Rex", Sophocles' dramatic masterpiece, in which the young Oedipus tries to find out what happened to his murdered father and to his mother; the story of the dog and the horse related in the third chapter of Voltaire's Zadig (1747). Inside Job is an album by Don Henley, released in 2000 (see 2000 in music). ... The locked room mystery is a sub-genre of detective fiction wherein a murder or other crime is apparently committed under impossible circumstances: no one could have entered or left the scene of the crime, and the death involved could not have been a suicide. ... Susanna and the Elders by Artemisia Gentileschi Susanna or Shoshana (Hebrew: , Standard  Tiberian  ; Egyptian loan: lily) is considered apocryphal by Protestants, but is included in the Book of Daniel (as chapter 13) by the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. ... Protestantism is a general grouping of denominations within Christianity. ... For other uses, see Bible (disambiguation). ... Apocrypha (from the Greek word , meaning those having been hidden away[1]) are texts of uncertain authenticity or writings where the authorship is questioned. ... For other uses, see Voltaire (disambiguation). ... Zadig is a famous novel by Voltaire, of a philosophical cast, bearing upon life as in the hands of a destiny beyond our control. ...

Ancient Chinese detective fiction

Another strand of detective fiction is the ancient Chinese detective fiction such as Bao Gong An (Chinese:包公案) and the 18th century novel Di Gong An (Chinese:狄公案). The latter was translated into English as Dee Goong An (Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee) by Dutch sinologist Robert Van Gulik, who then used the style and characters to write an original Judge Dee series. Bao Gong An (Chinese:包公案 or Cases by Judge Bao Zheng) is an ancient Chinese mystery novel written by Ming Dynastys An Yushi (Chinese:安遇时). The Judge Bao Zheng unveiled the evil doings by reasoning, with the help of his assistant. ... The Dee Goong An is a 18th century Chinese detective novel, loosely based on the adventures of Judge Dee, a magistrate who lived in the seventh century during the Tang Dynasty (600-900). ... Robert van Gulik (August 9, 1910 - September 24, 1967) was a highly educated orientalist, diplomat and writer, best known for the Judge Dee mysteries. ... Judge Dee (or Judge Di) is the hero of Robert van Guliks Judge Dee series. ...

The hero of these novels is typically a traditional judge or similar official based on historical personages such as Judge Bao (Bao Qingtian) or Judge Dee (Di Renjie). Although the historical characters may have lived in an earlier period (such as the Song or Tang dynasty) the novels are often set in the later Ming or Manchu period. Bao Zheng (Chinese: ; pinyin: ) (999–1062) was a much-praised judge from Song China. ... Di Renjie (狄仁傑) (630 - 700) was a Chinese official famous for opposing corruption who twice served as the Chancellor of Tang China. ... For other uses, see Liu Song Dynasty. ... For the band, see Tang Dynasty (band). ... For other uses, see Ming. ... Flag (1890-1912) Anthem Gong Jinou (1911) Qing China at its greatest extent. ...

These novels differ from the Western tradition in several points as described by van Gulik:

• the detective is the local magistrate who is usually involved in several unrelated cases simultaneously;
• the criminal is introduced at the very start of the story and his crime and reasons are carefully explained, thus constituting an inverted detective story rather than a "puzzle";
• the stories have a supernatural element with ghosts telling people about their death and even accusing the criminal;
• the stories were filled with digressions into philosophy, the complete texts of official documents, and much more, making for very long books;
• the novels tended to have a huge cast of characters, typically in the hundreds, all described as to their relation to the various main actors in the story;
• little time is spent on the details of how the crime was committed but a great deal on the torture and execution of the criminals, even including their further torments in one of the various hells for the damned.

Van Gulik chose Di Gong An to translate because it was in his view closer to the Western tradition and more likely to appeal to non-Chinese readers. An inverted detective story, also known as a Howcatchem, is a murder mystery fiction structure in which the commission of the crime is shown or described at the beginning, usually including the identity of the perpetrator. ...

Golden Age detective novels

Many English and some North American readers, in what became known as the Golden Age of Detective Fiction between the wars, generally preferred a type of detective story in which an outsider -- sometimes a salaried investigator or a police officer, but often a gifted amateur -- investigates a murder committed in a closed environment by one of a limited number of suspects. The most widespread subgenre of the detective novel became the whodunit (or whodunnit), where great ingenuity may be exercised in narrating the events of the crime, usually a homicide, and of the subsequent investigation in such a manner as to conceal the identity of the criminal from the reader until the end of the book, when the method and culprit are revealed. "The golden age of detective fiction began with high-class amateur detectives sniffing out murderers lurking in rose gardens, down country lanes, and in picturesque villages. Many conventions of the detective-fiction genre evolved in this era, as numerous writers -- from populist entertainers to respected poets -- tried their hands at mystery stories."^[3] The Golden Age of Detective Fiction was an era of detective fiction in the 1920s and 30s (also see Golden Age). ... A whodunit or whodunnit (for Who done it? and sometimes referred to as a Golden Age Mystery novel) is a complex, plot-driven variety of the detective story in which the puzzle is paramount. ... Homicide (Latin homicidium, homo human being + caedere to cut, kill) refers to the act of killing another human being. ...

The four original Queens of Crime were Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, Ngaio Marsh and Margery Allingham. Apart from Ngaio Marsh (New Zealand) they were all female British writers; perhaps Josephine Tey could be added. Agatha Mary Clarissa, Lady Mallowan, DBE (15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976), commonly known as Agatha Christie, was an English crime writer of novels, short stories and plays. ... Dorothy Leigh Sayers (Oxford, 13 June 1893 – Witham, 17 December 1957) was a renowned British author, translator, student of classical and modern languages, and Christian humanist. ... Ngaio Marsh DBE (April 23, 1895 - February 18, 1982), born Edith Ngaio Marsh was an author and theatre director from New Zealand. ... Margery Louise Allingham (1904-1966) was born in London and attended The Perse High School for Girls in Cambridge, before returning to London and the Polytechnic for Speech-Training. ... Josephine Tey was a pseudonym of Elizabeth Mackintosh (1896-February 13, 1952), a Scottish author best known for her mystery novels. ...

The most popular writer of the Golden Age whodunnit, and the most popular writers of all time, was Agatha Christie, who produced a long series of books featuring her detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple, amongst others, and usually including a complex puzzle for the baffled and misdirected reader to try and unravel. Also popular were the stories featuring Dorothy L. Sayers's Lord Peter Wimsey and S. S. Van Dine's Philo Vance. Agatha Mary Clarissa, Lady Mallowan, DBE (15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976), commonly known as Agatha Christie, was an English crime writer of novels, short stories and plays. ... Poirot redirects here. ... Margaret Rutherford as Miss Marple Jane Marple, usually known as Miss Marple, is a fictional character appearing in twelve of Agatha Christies crime novels. ... Dorothy Leigh Sayers (Oxford, 13 June 1893 – Witham, 17 December 1957) was a renowned British author, translator, student of classical and modern languages, and Christian humanist. ... Early paperback edition cover of Murder Must Advertise Lord Peter Death Bredon Wimsey is a fictional character in a series of detective novels and short stories by Dorothy L. Sayers, in which he solves mysteries — usually murder mysteries. ... S. S. Van Dine was the pseudonym of Willard Huntington Wright (October 15, 1888 - April 11, 1939), a U.S. art critic and author. ... Philo Vance was a fictional American detective created by S. S. Van Dine in the 1920s who appeared in 12 novels. ...

The 'puzzle' approach was carried even further into ingenious and seemingly impossible plots by John Dickson Carr - also writing as Carter Dickson - who is regarded as the master of the "locked room mystery" and Cecil Street, who also wrote as John Rhode, whose detective Dr. Priestley specialised in elaborate technical devices, while in the US the whodunnit was adopted and extended by Rex Stout and Ellery Queen, among others. The emphasis on formal "rules" during the Golden Age (as codified in 1929 by Ronald Knox) produced a variety of reactions. Most writers were content to follow the rules slavishly, some flouted some or all of the conventions, and some exploited the conventions with genius to produce new and startling results. The Four False Weapons (1948), 1961 Pan paperback edition. ... The locked room mystery is a sub-genre of detective fiction wherein a murder or other crime is apparently committed under impossible circumstances: no one could have entered or left the scene of the crime, and the death involved could not have been a suicide. ... Cecil John Charles Street, MC, OBE, (1884 - January 1965) was a prolific English writer of detective novels. ... Rex Stout, full name Rex Todhunter Stout, (December 1, 1886 - October 27, 1975) was an American writer best known as the creator of the larger-than-life fictional detective Nero Wolfe. ... Frederic Dannay (left), with James Yaffe (1943) Ellery Queen is both a fictional character and a pseudonym used by two American cousins from Brooklyn, New York: Daniel (David) Nathan, alias Frederic Dannay (October 20, 1905–September 3, 1982) and Manford (Emanuel) Lepofsky, alias Manfred Bennington Lee (January 11, 1905–April... Ronald Arbuthnott Knox (1888-1957) was an English theologian and crime writer. ...

The private eye novel

Private eye Martin Hewitt, created by British author Arthur Morrison, is perhaps the first example of the modern style of fictional private detective. By the late 1920s, Al Capone and the Mob were inspiring not only fear, but piquing genuine mainstream curiosity about the American underworld. Popular pulp fiction magazines like Black Mask capitalized on this, as authors such as Carrol John Daly published violent stories that focused on the mayhem and injustice surrounding the criminals, not the circumstances behind the crime. Very often, no actual mystery even existed: the books simply revolved around justice being served to those who deserved harsh treatment, which was described in explicit detail."^[3] In the 1930s, the private eye genre was adopted wholeheartedly by American writers. The tough, stylish detective fiction of Dashiell Hammett, Jonathan Latimer, Erle Stanley Gardner and others explored the "mean streets" and corrupt underbelly of the United States. Their style of crime fiction came to known as "hardboiled," which encompasses stories with similar attitudes concentrating not on detectives but gangsters, crooks, and other committers or victims of crimes. "Told in stark and sometimes elegant language through the unemotional eyes of new hero-detectives, these stories were an American phenomenon."^[3] Arthur Morrison was a famous author during 19th century England Arthur George Morrison (1863-1945) was an English author and journalist, known for his realistic novels about Londons East End and for his detective stories. ... A private investigator, or PI, is a person who undertakes investigations. ... “Capone” redirects here. ... This article is about inexpensive fiction magazines. ... For information on Black Mask, the surrealist group, see Black Mask (NYC). ... Samuel Dashiell Hammett (May 27, 1894 – January 10, 1961) was an American author of hardboiled detective novels and short stories. ... Jonathan Wyatt Latimer (October 23, 1906—June 23, 1983) was an American crime writer. ... The Case of the Velvet Claws (1933), 1953 U.S. paperback edition The Case of the Negligent Nymph (1956), 1958 Pan paperback edition. ... Hardboiled crime fiction is a uniquely American style pioneered by Dashiell Hammett, refined by Raymond Chandler, and endlessly imitated since by writers such as Mickey Spillane. ...

In the late 1930s, Raymond Chandler updated the form with his private detective Philip Marlowe, who brought a more intimate voice to the detective than Hammett's distant, third-person viewpoint. His cadenced dialogue and cryptic narrations were musical, evoking the dark alleys and tough thugs, rich women and powerful men about whom he wrote. Several feature and television movies have been made about the Philip Marlowe character. James Hadley Chase wrote a few novels with private eyes as the main hero, including "Blonde's Requiem" (1945), "Lay Her Among the Lilies" (1950), and "Figure It Out for Yourself" (1950). Heroes of these novels are typical private eyes which are very similar to Philip Marlowe. For other persons named Raymond Chandler, see Raymond Chandler (disambiguation). ... Ed Bishop had the title role in BBC Radios The Adventures of Philip Marlowe. ... Book Cover: Chases first novel No Orchids for Miss Blandish published 1939 Book Cover: Mallory, published 1950 Book Cover: The Guilty Are Afraid, published 1957 James Hadley Chase is a pseudonym for British author Rene Brabazon Raymond (December 24, 1906 – February 6, 1985) who also wrote under the names...

Ross Macdonald, pseudonym of Kenneth Millar, updated the form again with his detective Lew Archer, while still writing in what is considered the PI's Golden Age of Detective Fiction, begun by Hammett. Archer, like Hammett's fictional heroes, was a camera eye, with hardly any known past. "Turn Archer sideways, and he disappears," one reviewer wrote. Two of Macdonald's strengths were his use of psychology and his beautiful prose, which was full of imagery. Like other 'hardboiled' writers, Macdonald aimed to give an impression of realism in his work through violence, sex and confrontation; this is illusory, however, and any real private eye undergoing a typical fictional investigation would soon be dead or incapacitated. The movie Harper starring Paul Newman was based on the Lew Archer character. This article is about Ross Macdonald, the author. ... This article is about Ross Macdonald, the author. ... Lew Archer is a fictional character created by Ross Macdonald. ... The Golden Age of Detective Fiction was an era of detective fiction in the 1920s and 30s (also see Golden Age). ... Hardboiled crime fiction is a uniquely American style pioneered by Dashiell Hammett, refined by Raymond Chandler, and endlessly imitated since by writers such as Mickey Spillane. ... Harper is a 1966 film written by William Goldman from a novel by Ross Macdonald. ... This article is about the American actor and race team owner. ...

Michael Collins, pseudonym of Dennis Lynds, is generally considered the author who led the form into the Modern Age. His PI, Dan Fortune, was consistently involved in the same sort of David-and-Goliath stories that Hammett, Chandler, and Macdonald wrote, but he took a sociological bent, exploring the meaning of his characters' places in society and the impact society had on people. Full of commentary and clipped prose, his books were more intimate than his predecessors, dramatizing that crime can happen in one's own living room. Michael Collins is the most well-known pseudonym of award-winning novelist Dennis Lynds, (b. ... Michael Collins is the most well-known pseudonym of award-winning novelist Dennis Lynds, (b. ...

The PI novel was a male-dominated field in which female authors seldom found publication until Marcia Muller, Sara Paretsky, and Sue Grafton were finally published in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Each author's detective was brainy, physical, and could hold her own. Their acceptance, then success, caused publishers to seek out other female authors. Sara Paretsky (b. ... Sue Taylor Grafton (born April 24, 1940 in Louisville, Kentucky, USA) is a contemporary American author of detective novels. ...

The PI novel today is rich in variety. The strongest characteristic that binds them is that the detective now has a past and a life, while solving cases.

Police procedural

Main article: Police procedural

Many detective stories have police officers as the main characters. Of course these stories may take a variety of forms, but many authors try to realistically depict the routine activities of a group of police officers who are frequently working on more than one case simultaneously. Some of these stories are whodunits; in others the criminal is well known, and it is a case of getting enough evidence. The police procedural is a sub-genre of the mystery story which attempts to accurately depict the activities of a police force as they investigate crimes. ...

Other subgenres

There is also a subgenre of historical detectives. See historical whodunnit for an overview. The historical whodunnit is a sub-genre of the historical novel, in which the central plot involves a crime (almost always a murder) and the setting is historical. ...

The first amateur railway detective, Thorpe Hazell, was created by Victor Whitechurch and his stories impressed Ellery Queen and Dorothy L. Sayers^[5].

"Cozy mysteries" began in the late 20th century as a reinvention of the Golden Age whodunnit; these novels generally shy away from violence and suspense and frequently feature female amateur detectives. Modern cozy mysteries are frequently, though not necessarily in either case, humorous and thematic (culinary mystery, animal mystery, quilting mystery, etc.)

Another subgenre of detective fiction is the serial killer mystery, which might be thought of as an outcropping of the police procedural. There are early mystery novels in which a police force attempts to contend with the type of criminal known in the 1920s as a homicidal maniac, such as a few of the early novels of Philip Macdonald and Ellery Queen's Cat of Many Tails. However, this sort of story became much more popular after the coining of the phrase "serial killer" in the 1970s and the publication of The Silence of the Lambs in 1988. These stories frequently show the activities of many members of a police force or government agency in their efforts to apprehend a killer who is selecting victims on some obscure basis. They are also often much more violent and suspenseful than other mysteries. Serial killers are individuals who have a history of multiple slayings of victims who were usually unknown to them beforehand. ... Frederic Dannay (left), with James Yaffe (1943) Ellery Queen is both a fictional character and a pseudonym used by two American cousins from Brooklyn, New York: Daniel (David) Nathan, alias Frederic Dannay (October 20, 1905–September 3, 1982) and Manford (Emanuel) Lepofsky, alias Manfred Bennington Lee (January 11, 1905–April... The Silence of the Lambs is a 1991 film directed by Jonathan Demme and starring Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins. ...

Suspense — the core tenet of detective fiction

A beginner to detective fiction would generally be advised against reading anything about a piece of detective fiction (such as a blurb or an introduction) before reading the text itself. Even if they do not mean to, advertisers, reviewers, scholars and aficionados usually have a habit of giving away details or parts of the plot, and sometimes -- for example in the case of Mickey Spillane's novel I, the Jury -- even the solution. (After the credits of Billy Wilder's film Witness for the Prosecution, the cinemagoers are asked not to talk to anyone about the plot so that future viewers will also be able to fully enjoy the unravelling of the mystery.) Frank Morrison Spillane (March 9, 1918 – July 17, 2006), better known as Mickey Spillane, was an American author of crime novels, many featuring his signature detective character, Mike Hammer. ... I, The Jury (1947) is Mickey Spillanes (b. ... Billy Wilder (June 22, 1906 – March 27, 2002) was an Austrian-born, Jewish-American journalist, screenwriter, film director, and producer whose career spanned more than 50 years and 60 films. ... Witness for the Prosecution is a 1957 crime film based on a short story (and later play) by Agatha Christie. ...

The unresolved problem of plausibility and coincidence

Up to the present, some of the problems inherent in crime fiction have remained unsolved (and possibly also insoluble). Some of them can be dismissed with a shrug: Why bother at all, even if it is obvious to everyone that an ordinary person is not likely to keep stumbling across corpses? After all, this is just part of the game of crime fiction. Still the fact that an old spinster like Miss Marple meets with an estimated two bodies per year does raise a few doubts as to the plausibility of the Miss Marple mysteries. Margaret Rutherford as Miss Marple Jane Marple, usually known as Miss Marple, is a fictional character appearing in twelve of Agatha Christies crime novels. ...

De Andrea has described the quiet little village of St. Mary Mead as having "put on a pageant of human depravity rivaled only by that of Sodom and Gomorrah". Similarly, TV heroine Jessica Fletcher is confronted with bodies wherever she goes, but over the years people who have met violent deaths have also piled up in the streets of Cabot Cove, Maine, the cozy little village where she lives. Generally, therefore, it is much more convincing if a policeman, private eye, forensic expert or similar professional is made the hero or heroine of a series of crime novels. Official language(s) None (English and French de facto) Capital Augusta Largest city Portland Area  Ranked 39th  - Total 33,414 sq mi (86,542 km²)  - Width 210 miles (338 km)  - Length 320 miles (515 km)  - % water 13. ... The word forensic (from Latin: forensis - forum) refers to something of, pertaining to, or used in a court of law. ...

This implausibility is satirized frequently on the TV show Monk, in which the main character, Adrian Monk, is frequently accused of being a "bad luck charm" and a "murder magnet" as the result of the frequency with which otherwise normal people attempt to pull off elaborate schemes for perfect murders when he is in the vicinity. Likewise Kogoro Mori of Detective Conan got that kind of unflattering reputation. Although Mori is actually a private investigator with his own agency, the police has never been intentionally consulting him and he just keeps stumbling from one crime scene to another. 1867 edition of Punch, a ground-breaking British magazine of popular humour, including a good deal of satire of the contemporary social and political scene. ... Monk is an Emmy and Golden Globe winning U.S. television show about the private detective Adrian Monk (Tony Shalhoub). ... Adrian Monk is the protagonist of the television series Monk, portrayed by Tony Shalhoub. ... For other uses, see Perfect crime (disambiguation). ... Poster for Countdown to Heaven, the fifth Detective Conan movie Case Closed, known in Japan as Detective Conan (名探偵コナン, Meitantei Konan), is a detective manga and anime series by Gosho Aoyama (青山 剛昌), published in Weekly Shonen Sunday magazine. ... A private investigator, private detective, PI, or private eye, is a person who undertakes investigations, usually for a private citizen or some other entity not involved with a government or police organization. ...

Also, the role and legitimacy of coincidence has frequently been the topic of heated arguments ever since Ronald A. Knox categorically stated that "no accident must ever help the detective" (Commandment No.6).

The Effects of Technology

Technological progress has also rendered many plots implausible and antiquated. For example, the predominance of mobile phones, pagers, and PDAs has significantly altered the previously dangerous situations in which investigators traditionally might have found themselves. Some authors have not succeeded in adapting to the changes brought about by modern technology; others, such as Carl Hiaasen, have. For terminal pagers, see more (Unix) or less (Unix). ... User with Treo (PDA with smartphone functionality) Personal digital assistants (PDAs) are handheld computers, but have become much more versatile over the years. ... Carl Hiaasen (IPA pronunciation: ) (born March 12, 1953) is an American journalist and novelist. ...

One tactic that avoids the issue of technology altogether is the historical detective genre. As global interconnectedness makes legitimate suspense more difficult to achieve, several writers -- including Elizabeth Peters, P. C. Doherty, Steven Saylor, and Lindsey Davis -- have eschewed fabricating convoluted plots in order to manufacture tension, instead opting to set their characters in some former period. Such a strategy forces the protagonist to rely on more inventive means of investigation, lacking as they do the scientific tools available to modern detectives. The historical whodunnit is a sub-genre of the historical novel, in which the central plot involves a crime (almost always a murder) and the setting is historical. ... Elizabeth Peters (a pen-name of Barbara Mertz) has written many books in the mystery genre, featuring strong female protagonists and many archaeological connections. ... Paul C. Doherty (1946) is a British writer, with a doctorate in history from Oxford, who writes historical mysteries and novels under the pennames Anna Apostolou, Michael Clynes, Ann Dukthas, C. L. Grace, Paul Harding, and Mollie Hardwick. ... Steven Saylor (born March 23, 1956) is an American writer of historical novels. ... Lindsey Davis, historical novelist, was born in Birmingham, England in 1949. ...

Proposed rules

Several authors have attempted to set forth a sort of list of “Detective Commandments” for prospective authors of the genre. According to "Twenty rules for writing detective stories," by Van Dine in 1928: "The detective story is a kind of intellectual game. It is more--it is a sporting event. And for the writing of detective stories there are very definite laws--unwritten, perhaps, but nonetheless binding; and every respectable and self-respecting concocter of literary mysteries lives up to them. Herewith, then, is a sort of credo, based partly on the practice of all the great writers of detective stories, and partly on the promptings of the honest author's inner conscience."^[6] Ronald Knox wrote a set of Ten Commandments or Decalogue in 1929, see article on the Golden Age of Detective Fiction. Ronald Arbuthnott Knox (1888-1957) was an English theologian and crime writer. ... The Golden Age of Detective Fiction was an era of detective fiction in the 1920s and 30s (also see Golden Age). ...

Famous fictional detectives

The full list of fictional detectives is immense. The format is well suited to dramatic presentation, and so there are also many television and film detectives, besides those appearing in adaptations of novels in this genre. Fictional detectives are generally applicable to one of four archetypes:

• the amateur detective (Marple, Jessica Fletcher);
• the private investigator (Holmes, Marlowe, Spade, Poirot);
• the police detective (Dalgliesh, Kojak, Morse);
• the forensic specialists (Scarpetta, Quincy, Cracker, CSI).

Notable fictional detectives and their creators include:

Amateur detectives

• Father Brown — G. K. Chesterton
• Encyclopedia Brown — Donald J. Sobol
• Jonathan Creek — Jonathan Creek (TV series)
• Bulldog Drummond — ("Sapper", a pseudonym of Herman Cyril McNeile)
• C. Auguste Dupin — Edgar Allan Poe
• Dr. Gideon Fell — John Dickson Carr
• Jessica Fletcher — Murder, She Wrote
• Thorpe Hazell — Victor Whitechurch
• Joseph Koster — J.G. Sandom
• Miss Marple — Agatha Christie
• Perry Mason — Erle Stanley Gardner
• Travis McGee — John D. MacDonald
• Ellery Queen — Ellery Queen (a pseudonym of Manfred Bennington Lee and Frederic Dannay)
• Lord Peter Wimsey — Dorothy L. Sayers
• Max Carrados (the blind detective) — Ernest Bramah

Private Investigators The Father Brown stories by G.K. Chesterton, Penguin Books edition 1981 Father Brown is a fictional detective created by English novelist G. K. Chesterton, who stars in 52 short stories, later compiled in five books. ... Gilbert Keith Chesterton (May 29, 1874–June 14, 1936) was an influential English writer of the early 20th century. ... Cover of the first edition of Encyclopedia Brown: Boy Detective from Lodestar Books. ... Born in 1924. ... Jonathan Creek is a British mystery television series produced by the BBC and written by David Renwick. ... Jonathan Creek is a British mystery television series produced by the BBC and written by David Renwick. ... Bulldog Drummond is a British fictional character created by Sapper, a pseudonym of H. C. McNeile (1888-1937), in imitation of the hard boiled noir-style detectives appearing in contemporary American fiction. ... A sapper, in the sense first used by the French military, was one who sapped (undermined) anothers fortifications. ... C. Auguste Dupin is a fictional detective created by Edgar Allan Poe. ... Edgar Allan Poe (January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American poet, short story writer, playwright, editor, literary critic, essayist and one of the leaders of the American Romantic Movement. ... Doctor Gideon Fell is a fictional detective created by John Dickson Carr. ... The Four False Weapons (1948), 1961 Pan paperback edition. ... Jessica Beatrice Fletcher is a fictional character portrayed on the American television series Murder, She Wrote by veteran British Oscar-nominated actress Angela Lansbury. ... Angela Lansbury as Jessica Fletcher Murder, She Wrote was a popular, long-running television mystery series starring Angela Lansbury as mystery writer and amateur detective Jessica Fletcher. ... Margaret Rutherford as Miss Marple Jane Marple, usually known as Miss Marple, is a fictional character appearing in twelve of Agatha Christies crime novels. ... Agatha Mary Clarissa, Lady Mallowan, DBE (15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976), commonly known as Agatha Christie, was an English crime writer of novels, short stories and plays. ... Perry Mason is a fictional defense attorney who originally appeared in detective fiction by Erle Stanley Gardner. ... The Case of the Velvet Claws (1933), 1953 U.S. paperback edition The Case of the Negligent Nymph (1956), 1958 Pan paperback edition. ... Travis McGee is a fictional character created by American mystery writer John D. MacDonald. ... John Dann MacDonald (July 24, 1916 – December 28, 1986), writing as John D. MacDonald, was an American writer best known for his series of detective novels featuring protagonist Travis McGee. ... Frederic Dannay (left), with James Yaffe (1943) Ellery Queen is both a fictional character and a pseudonym used by two American cousins from Brooklyn, New York: Daniel (David) Nathan, alias Frederic Dannay (October 20, 1905–September 3, 1982) and Manford (Emanuel) Lepofsky, alias Manfred Bennington Lee (January 11, 1905–April... Frederic Dannay (left), with James Yaffe (1943) Ellery Queen is both a fictional character and a pseudonym used by two American cousins from Brooklyn, New York: Daniel (David) Nathan, alias Frederic Dannay (October 20, 1905–September 3, 1982) and Manford (Emanuel) Lepofsky, alias Manfred Bennington Lee (January 11, 1905–April... Early paperback edition cover of Murder Must Advertise Lord Peter Death Bredon Wimsey is a fictional character in a series of detective novels and short stories by Dorothy L. Sayers, in which he solves mysteries — usually murder mysteries. ... Dorothy Leigh Sayers (Oxford, 13 June 1893 – Witham, 17 December 1957) was a renowned British author, translator, student of classical and modern languages, and Christian humanist. ... Ernest Bramah Smith (1868-1942) was a British author, better known by his pen name, Ernest Bramah. ... This is a partial list of fiction private investigators — otherwise known as Private Eyes or PIs — who had appeared in various literature, films, and television series: ...

• Mike Hammer — Mickey Spillane
• Sherlock Holmes — Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
• Thomas Magnum — Magnum, P.I.
• Philip Marlowe — Raymond Chandler
• Veronica Mars — Veronica Mars (TV Show)
• Adrian Monk — Monk (TV series)
• Hercule Poirot — Agatha Christie
• Vincent Calvino — Christopher G. Moore
• Sam Spade — Dashiell Hammett
• Angel — Angel (TV series)
• Spenser — Robert B. Parker
• Nero Wolfe — Rex Stout
• The Continental Op (unnamed) — Dashiell Hammett
• Harry Angel — William Hjortsberg
• Feluda, a.k.a. Pradosh C. Mitter — Satyajit Ray
• Byomkesh Bakshi — Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay
• Kudou Shin'ichi/Edogawa Conan — Japanese anime Detective Conan

Police detectives Mike Hammer is a fictional American detective created by the American author Mickey Spillane in the 1947 book I, the Jury (made into a movie in 1953 and 1982). ... Frank Morrison Spillane (March 9, 1918 – July 17, 2006), better known as Mickey Spillane, was an American author of crime novels, many featuring his signature detective character, Mike Hammer. ... This article is about Arthur Conan Doyles fictional detective. ... Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle, DL (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a Scottish author most noted for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes, which are generally considered a major innovation in the field of crime fiction, and for the adventures of Professor Challenger. ... Thomas Sullivan Magnum was the main character and namesake of the popular American television series, Magnum, P.I.. Magnum was portrayed by Tom Selleck. ... Magnum, P.I. is an American television show starring Tom Selleck as Thomas Magnum, a fictional private investigator living in Oahu, Hawaii. ... Ed Bishop had the title role in BBC Radios The Adventures of Philip Marlowe. ... For other persons named Raymond Chandler, see Raymond Chandler (disambiguation). ... Veronica Mars is a fictional character in The CW television series, Veronica Mars, which debuted on UPN. She is portrayed by Kristen Bell. ... This article is about the Veronica Mars television series. ... Adrian Monk is the protagonist of the television series Monk, portrayed by Tony Shalhoub. ... Monk is an Emmy and Golden Globe winning U.S. television show about the private detective Adrian Monk (Tony Shalhoub). ... Poirot redirects here. ... Agatha Mary Clarissa, Lady Mallowan, DBE (15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976), commonly known as Agatha Christie, was an English crime writer of novels, short stories and plays. ... Christopher George Moore (born July 8, 1952) is a Canadian novelist who has lived in Bangkok, Thailand since 1988. ... Poster of the 1941 Warner Brothers film version of The Maltese Falcon, directed by John Huston Sam Spade was the leading character in the novel and movie The Maltese Falcon (1931). ... Samuel Dashiell Hammett (May 27, 1894 – January 10, 1961) was an American author of hardboiled detective novels and short stories. ... This article is about the Buffy the Vampire Slayer character. ... For the South Korean TV series of the same name, see Angel (2007 TV series). ... Spenser (he never reveals his first name) is a fictional character in a series of detective novels by the American mystery writer Robert B. Parker. ... Robert B. Parkers novel Cold Service Robert B. Parker (born September 17, 1932) is an acclaimed American writer of detective fiction. ... Bitter End — Carl Mueller illustrated Rex Stouts first Nero Wolfe novella for The American Magazine (November 1940) Nero Wolfe is a fictional detective, created by the American mystery writer Rex Stout, who made his debut in 1934. ... Rex Stout, full name Rex Todhunter Stout, (December 1, 1886 - October 27, 1975) was an American writer best known as the creator of the larger-than-life fictional detective Nero Wolfe. ... The Continental Op is a fictional character created by Dashiell Hammett. ... Samuel Dashiell Hammett (May 27, 1894 – January 10, 1961) was an American author of hardboiled detective novels and short stories. ... William Hjortsberg is a novelist and screenwriter best known for writing the screenplay of the movie Legend. ... A sketch of Feluda done by Ray Feluda (Bengali: েফলুদা) is a fictional character starring in a series of novels and short stories written by the famous Indian film director and writer Satyajit Ray. ... Satyajit Ray (Bengali:  ) (May 2, 1921–April 23, 1992) was a Bengali Indian filmmaker and polymath. ... Cover of a Byomkesh Bakshi stories collection , English translation. ... Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay has been a well known literary figure of Bengal. ... Poster for Countdown to Heaven, the fifth Detective Conan movie Case Closed, known in Japan as Detective Conan (名探偵コナン, Meitantei Konan), is a detective manga and anime series by Gosho Aoyama (青山 剛昌), published in Weekly Shonen Sunday magazine. ...

• Jesse Stone — Robert B. Parker
• Lieutenant Columbo — Columbo
• Vic Mackey — The Shield
• Martin Beck — Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo
• Harry Bosch — Michael Connelly
• Chen Cao — Qiu Xiaolong
• James "Sonny" Crockett — Miami Vice
• Adam Dalgliesh — P. D. James
• Inspector Joseph French — Freeman Wills Crofts
• George Gideon — John Creasey
• Robert Goren — Law & Order: Criminal Intent
• Lt. Theo Kojak — Kojak (played by Telly Savalas)
• Jules Maigret — Georges Simenon
• Inspector Morse — Colin Dexter
• DCI Thomas "Tom" Barnaby — Midsomer Murders (played by John Nettles)
• DCS Christopher Foyle — Foyle's War (played by Michael Kitchen)
• DCI Jane Tennison — Prime Suspect
• DI Thomas Lynley — The Inspector Lynley Mysteries
• DS Barbara Havers — The Inspector Lynley Mysteries
• Inspector Clouseau — Pink Panther
• Kurt Wallander — Henning Mankell

Forensic specialists The Jesse Stone novels are a series of detective novels written by Robert B. Parker, featuring his fictional creation Jesse Stone. ... Robert B. Parkers novel Cold Service Robert B. Parker (born September 17, 1932) is an acclaimed American writer of detective fiction. ... Columbo is an American crime fiction TV series, starring Peter Falk as Lieutenant Columbo, a homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. ... Columbo is an American crime fiction TV series, starring Peter Falk as Lieutenant Columbo, a homicide detective with the Los Angeles Police Department. ... Detective Vic Mackey, portrayed by Michael Chiklis, is a fictional Los Angeles Police Department detective and leader of the Strike Team, a four-man anti-gang unit in the FX crime drama series The Shield. ... This article is about the TV series. ... Martin Beck is a fictional police detective who is the main character in ten novels by Sjöwall and Wahlöö. The stories are often seen largely from his perspective, and as head of the department he is the logical hero of the series. ... Maj Sjöwall (born 1935) is a Swedish author. ... Per Wahlöö (1926-1975) was a Swedish author. ... Michael Connelly (born July 21, 1956) is an American author of detective novels, notably those featuring Hieronymus Harry Bosch. ... Michael Connelly (born July 21, 1956, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American author of detective novels, notably those featuring Detective Hieronymus Harry Bosch. ... Born in 1953, Qiu Xiaolong 裘小龙 is a Shanghai native and English language author currently living in St. ... For the 2006 movie, see Miami Vice (film). ... For the 2006 movie, see Miami Vice (film). ... Adam Dalgliesh is the brainchild of author P.D. James. ... Phyllis Dorothy James, Baroness James of Holland Park OBE (born 3 August 1920) is an English writer of crime fiction and member of the House of Lords, who writes as P. D. James. ... Freeman Wills Crofts (1879-1957) was born in Dublin, Ireland. ... Commander George Gideon of Londons Scotland Yard is a fictional policeman created by John Creasey under the pseudonym J.J. Marric. ... John Creasey (September 17, 1908 – June 9, 1973) was born in Southfields, Surrey, England and died in New Hall, Bodenham, Salisbury Wiltshire, England. ... This article or section contains a plot summary that is overly long or excessively detailed compared to the rest of the article. ... Law & Order: Criminal Intent is a United States crime drama television series that began in 2001. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Aristotelis Telly Savalas (January 21, 1922 – January 22, 1994) was a prominent Emmy Award-winning American film and television actor whose career spanned four decades. ... Jules Maigret, known as (Commissaire) Maigret to most people, including his wife, is a fictional police detective, created by writer Georges Simenon. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Morse (left) as played by John Thaw in the television adaption (with Kevin Whately as Lewis (right)). Detective Chief Inspector Morse is a fictional character, who features in a series of thirteen detective novels by British author Colin Dexter, though he is better known for the 33 episode TV series... Norman Colin Dexter, OBE, (born 29 September 1930 in Stamford, Lincolnshire) is the English author of the Inspector Morse novels. ... Detective Chief Inspector Thomas Geoffrey Tom Barnaby is a fictional detective created by Caroline Graham. ... Midsomer Murders is a British television drama that has aired on ITV1 since 1997. ... John Nettles is a British actor. ... Foyles War is a detective television programme created by screen-writer and author Anthony Horowitz, and commissioned by ITV after the long-running detective series Inspector Morse came to an end in 2000. ... Foyles War is a detective television programme created by screen-writer and author Anthony Horowitz, and commissioned by ITV after the long-running detective series Inspector Morse came to an end in 2000. ... Michael Kitchen (born October 31, 1948 in Leicester) is an English actor. ... Prime Suspect was a highly acclaimed British police procedural television drama series made by Granada Television for the ITV network in the 1990s and 2000s. ... Prime Suspect is a highly-acclaimed Granada Television police procedural television drama series of the decades of the 1990s and 2000s, which has been followed up by several sequels. ... Inspector Lynley DVD cover (1st series) The Inspector Lynley Mysteries are a series of BBC television programmes about Scotland Yard Inspector Lynley. ... Inspector Lynley DVD cover (1st series) The Inspector Lynley Mysteries are a series of BBC television programmes about Scotland Yard Inspector Lynley. ... Peter Sellers in one of a number of appearances as Inspector Clouseau Inspector Jacques Clouseau (later chief inspector) is a fictional detective in Blake Edwardss Pink Panther series. ... The Pink Panther cartoon character. ... Kurt Wallander is a fictional Swedish police inspector created by author Henning Mankell. ... Henning Mankell at the Gothenburg Book Fair 2005 Henning Mankell (born February 3, 1948) is an internationally known Swedish author of crime fiction, childrens books as well as plays. ...

• Dr Donald "Ducky" Mallard — N.C.I.S. (Naval Criminal Investigative Services)
• Gil Grissom, Ph.D. — CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
• Dr Quincy — Quincy, M.E.
• Dr. Kay Scarpetta — Patricia Cornwell
• Dr John Thorndyke — R. Austin Freeman
• Temperance Brennan — Kathy Reichs
• Lt.Horatio Caine — CSI:Miami
• Detective Mac Taylor — CSI:New York

Catholic Church detectives Dr. Donald Ducky Mallard is a fictional Chief Medical Examiner in the NCIS television series by CBS Television, portrayed by David McCallum. ... NCIS is an American police procedural television series revolving around a fictional team of special agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service of the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps. ... Gilbert Gil Grissom, Ph. ... CSI: Crime Scene Investigation is a popular Alliance Atlantis/CBS police procedural television series, running since October 2000, about a team of forensic scientists. ... Quincy, M.E. (or simply Quincy) is the name of a United States television series that aired from October 3, 1976, to May 11, 1983, on NBC (and can be seen in the UK on ITV3 and intermittently on the ITV Network, as well as in syndication on MeTV in... Kay Scarpetta is a fictional character and protagonist in a series of crime novels written by Patricia Cornwell. ... Patricia Cornwell (born Patricia Carroll Daniels on June 9, 1956) is a contemporary American author. ... Dr (John) Thorndyke is a fictional forensic investigator and lawyer in a long series of books by R Austin Freeman. ... R(ichard) Austin Freeman (April 11, 1862 London - September 28, 1943 Gravesend) was a British writer of detective stories, mostly featuring the medico-legal forensic investigator Dr Thorndyke. ... Emily Deschanel as Dr. Temperance Brennan Temperance Brennan is a fictional character created by author Kathy Reichs. ... Kathleen Joan Kathy Reichs is native of Chicago and works as a forensic anthropologist, an academic, and bestselling writer of mystery novels. ... Lt. ... CSI: Miami is a spinoff of the popular CBS network series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. ... Mac Taylor is a fictional character featured in the TV series CSI: NY. He is played by Gary Sinise. ...

• Father Brown — G. K. Chesterton
• William of Baskerville — (Middle Ages, Italy) Umberto Eco
• Brother Cadfael — (Middle Ages, England/Wales) Edith Pargeter
• Father Dowling Mysteries

Government agents The Father Brown stories by G.K. Chesterton, Penguin Books edition 1981 Father Brown is a fictional detective created by English novelist G. K. Chesterton, who stars in 52 short stories, later compiled in five books. ... Gilbert Keith Chesterton (May 29, 1874–June 14, 1936) was an influential English writer of the early 20th century. ... Picture of the book in the binding provided by the Folio Society The Name of the Rose, a 1980 novel by Umberto Eco, is a murder mystery set in an Italian monastery in the year 1327 during the papacy of Pope John XXII. The book was also made into a... Umberto Eco (born January 5, 1932) is an Italian medievalist, semiotician, philosopher and novelist, best known for his novel The Name of the Rose (Il nome della rosa) and his many essays. ... Brother Cadfael is the fictional detective in a series of murder mysteries by the late Edith Pargeter writing under the name Ellis Peters. ... Edith Mary Pargeter, BEM (September 28, 1913 in Horsehay, Shropshire, England –October 14, 1995) was a prolific author of works in many categories, especially history and historical fiction, and was also honoured for her translations of Czech classics; she is probably best known for her murder mysteries, both historical and... Father Dowling Mysteries (also known as Father Dowling Investigates in the UK) is an American television mystery series that appeared between 30 November 1987 and 2 May 1991 on the ABC network. ...

• Jack Bauer — 24
• James Bond — Ian Fleming
• Fox Mulder and Dana Scully — The X-Files
• John McAllister and Leo Meriden — The Lost Kings
• Agent Dale Cooper — Twin Peaks

Others Jack Bauer is the fictional protagonist of the American television series 24, in which he has trained and worked in various capacities as a government agent, including US Army Delta Force, LAPD SWAT, and finally the Counter Terrorist Unit (CTU) Los Angeles. ... 24 is an Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning American action drama television series. ... This article is about the spy series. ... This article is about the author. ... Special Agent Fox William Mulder (born October 13, 1961), nicknamed Spooky Mulder, is a fictional character played by David Duchovny on the 1993-2002 television series, The X-Files. ... Special Agent Dana Katherine Scully, M.D. (born February 23, 1964) is a fictional character on the FOX television series The X-Files (1993-2002), played by Gillian Anderson. ... This article is about the TV show. ... FBI Special Agent Dale Bartholomew Cooper was the lead character in the popular television series Twin Peaks, created by Mark Frost and David Lynch. ... This article is about the television show. ... This list inludes detectives who, for several reasons, do not fit conventional categorization: ...

• Batman, a.k.a. Bruce Wayne — Bob Kane & Bill Finger
• Karel "Carl" Kolchak — Jeffrey Grant Rice
• L Lawliet The Greatest Detective on Earth — Death Note
• Arsène Lupin Gentleman/thief — Maurice Leblanc/Boileau-Narcejac
• Ben Matlock — Dean Hargrove
• Detective Chimp- DC Comics

For younger readers Batman (originally referred to as the Bat-Man and still referred to at times as the Batman) is a DC Comics fictional superhero who first appeared in Detective Comics #27 in May 1939. ... Bob Kane (born Robert Kahn, October 24, 1915 – November 3, 1998) was an American comic book artist and writer credited as the creator of the DC Comics superhero Batman. ... William Bill Finger (February 8, 1914–January 18, 1974) was an American writer best known as the uncredited co-creator, with Bob Kane, of the DC Comics character Batman, as well as the co-architect of the series development. ... Darren McGavin as Kolchak in The Night Stalker (1972) Kolchak: The Night Stalker is a television series that aired on ABC in 1974, about a newpaper reporter -- Carl Kolchak, played by Darren McGavin -- who investigates crimes with mysterious and unlikely causes that the proper authorities wont accept. ... L Lawliet ), commonly referred to by his alias L ), is a fictional character in the manga and anime series Death Note. ... Death note redirects here. ... Arsène Lupin is the name of a fictional gentleman thief who appears in a book series of detective fiction / crime fiction novels written by French writer Maurice Leblanc, as well as a number of non-canonical sequels and numerous film, television, stage play and comic book adaptations. ... Maurice Leblanc Maurice Leblanc Maurice-marie-émile Leblanc (11 December 1864 - 6 November 1941) was a French novelist and writer of short stories, known primarily as the creator of the fictional gentleman thief and detective Arsène Lupin, often described as a French counterpart to Conan Doyles creation Sherlock... Boileau-Narcejac is the name by which Pierre Boileau (Paris, 28 April 1906 - Beaulieu-sur-Mer, 1989) and Pierre Ayraud, aka Thomas Narcejac (Rochefort-sur-Mer, 3 July 1908 - Nice, 1998) wrote. ... Ben Matlock in court Benjamin Leighton Ben Matlock is a fictional character from the television series, Matlock, played by Andy Griffith. ... Dean Hargrove (b. ... -1... DC Comics is an American comic book and related media company. ... This list consists of fictional investigators written specifically for younger readers: ...

• Judy Bolton
• The Boxcar Children
• Encyclopedia Brown — Donald J. Sobol
• Nancy Drew — Carolyn Keene and others
• Inspector Gadget
• Ginny Gordon
• The Hardy Boys — Franklin W. Dixon and others
• Trixie Belden
• The Three Investigators
• Detective Conan
• Scooby Doo

Historical The Boxcar Children is a popular book series by American writer Gertrude Chandler Warner; it is also the title of the first book in the series. ... Cover of the first edition of Encyclopedia Brown: Boy Detective from Lodestar Books. ... Born in 1924. ... For the film, see Nancy Drew (2007 film). ... Carolyn Keene is the pseudonym of the author of the Nancy Drew mystery series, and also The Dana Girls mystery series, both published by the Stratemeyer Syndicate. ... For the 1999 live-action film, see Inspector Gadget (film). ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... For the professional wrestling tag team, see Hardy Boyz . ... Franklin W. Dixon is the pen name used by a variety of different authors who wrote The Hardy Boys novels for the Stratemeyer Syndicate. ... Trixie Belden is the title character in a series of girl detective mysteries written between 1948 and 1986. ... The Three Investigators was a popular American juvenile detective series first published as Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators. It was created by Robert Arthur who thought of using a famous figure as the movie director to attract attention. ... Poster for Countdown to Heaven, the fifth Detective Conan movie Case Closed, known in Japan as Detective Conan (名探偵コナン, Meitantei Konan), is a detective manga and anime series by Gosho Aoyama (青山 剛昌), published in Weekly Shonen Sunday magazine. ... Scooby-Doo IS THE SHIT is a short ass-running American animated television series produced for your mom Saturday morning television in several different versions from 1969 to the present. ... This list consists of fictional historical detectives, in chronological order of setting: ...

• Cadfael monk (Middle Ages, England) — Edith Pargeter
• Judge Dee (Tang dynasty China) — Robert van Gulik
• Sister Fidelma (7th Cen. CE Ireland) — Peter Tremayne
• Gordianus the Finder (1st Cen. BCE Roman Republic) — Steven Saylor
• Li Kao (7th Cen. CE China) — Barry Hughart
• Bak (Ancient Egypt) — Lauren Haney
• Sano Ichiro (17th Cen. CE Japan) — Laura Joh Rowland
• William of Baskerville British Friar (14 Century, Italy) — Umberto Eco

Science-fiction and Fantasy Cadfael (pronounced , approximately CAD-vile) is the fictional detective in a series of murder mysteries by the late Edith Pargeter writing under the name Ellis Peters. ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... Edith Mary Pargeter, BEM (September 28, 1913 in Horsehay, Shropshire, England –October 14, 1995) was a prolific author of works in many categories, especially history and historical fiction, and was also honoured for her translations of Czech classics; she is probably best known for her murder mysteries, both historical and... Judge Dee (or Judge Di) is the hero of Robert van Guliks Judge Dee series. ... For the band, see Tang Dynasty (band). ... Robert van Gulik (August 9, 1910 - September 24, 1967) was a highly educated orientalist, diplomat and writer, best known for the Judge Dee mysteries. ... Sister Fidelma is a fictional amateur detective, the eponymous heroine of a series by Irish author Peter Tremayne (pseudonym of Peter Berresford Ellis). ... The 7th century is the period from 601 - 700 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian Era. ... Peter Tremayne is the pseudonym of historian Peter Berresford Ellis, as whom he has written several novels and short stories set in the middle of the 7th century, mainly in Ireland, and starring the dalaigh, Sister Fidelma. ... Gordianus the Finder is the fictional protagonist of Steven Saylors Roma Sub Rosa series of mystery novels set in Republican Rome. ... (2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC - 1st millennium) The 1st century BC started on January 1, 100 BC and ended on December 31, 1 BC. An alternative name for this century is the last century BC. The AD/BC notation does not use a year zero. ... This article is about the state which existed from the 6th century BC to the 1st century BC. For the state which existed in the 18th century, see Roman Republic (18th century). ... Steven Saylor (born March 23, 1956) is an American writer of historical novels. ... Li Kao is a fictional character in Barry Hugharts novels Bridge of Birds, The Story of the Stone, and Eight Skilled Gentlemen. ... The 7th century is the period from 601 - 700 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian Era. ... Barry Hughart (born March 13, 1934) is classified as a fantasy author. ... The pyramids are the most recognizable symbols of the civilization of ancient Egypt. ... (16th century - 17th century - 18th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 17th century was that century which lasted from 1601-1700. ... Laura Joh Rowland is the author of a series of mystery novels set in the late days of feudal Japan, mostly in Edo during the late 1600s. ... Picture of the book in the binding provided by the Folio Society The Name of the Rose, a 1980 novel by Umberto Eco, is a murder mystery set in an Italian monastery in the year 1327 during the papacy of Pope John XXII. The book was also made into a... (Redirected from 14 Century) (13th century - 14th century - 15th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 14th century was that century which lasted from 1301 to 1400. ... Umberto Eco (born January 5, 1932) is an Italian medievalist, semiotician, philosopher and novelist, best known for his novel The Name of the Rose (Il nome della rosa) and his many essays. ... This list consists of fictional detectives from science fiction and fantasy stories: ...

• Elijah Baley — Isaac Asimov
• Gil Hamilton — Larry Niven
• Dirk Gently — Douglas Adams
• Sam Vimes — Terry Pratchett
• Dr. Phil D'Amato — Paul Levinson
• Harry Dresden — Jim Butcher's novels, The Dresden Files TV series
• Rick Deckard — Blade Runner, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (Philip K. Dick)
• Takeshi Kovacs — Richard Morgan

Elijah Baley from the cover of The Caves of Steel. ... Isaac Asimov (January 2?, 1920?[1] – April 6, 1992), pronounced , originally Исаак Озимов but now transcribed into Russian as Айзек Азимов [1], was a Russian-born American author and professor of biochemistry, a highly successful writer, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. ... Gilbert Gilgamesh Hamilton is a fictional character in the Known Space universe created by Larry Niven. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Dirk Gently is a fictional character created by Douglas Adams and featured in the books Dirk Gentlys Holistic Detective Agency and The Long Dark Teatime of the Soul. ... Douglas Noël Adams (11 March 1952 – 11 May 2001) was an English author, comic radio dramatist, and musician. ... This article can be confusing for some readers, and needs to be edited for clarity. ... Terence David John Pratchett, OBE (born 28 April 1948) is a British fantasy and science fiction author, best known for his Discworld series. ... Dr. Phil D’Amato is a fictional NYPD forensic detective who has a penchant for strange cases. ... Paul Levinson, 2002 Paul Levinson (b. ... Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden is the main character of Jim Butchers contemporary fantasy series, The Dresden Files and a television series of the same name based on the novels. ... Jim Butcher is a New York Times Best Selling author[1][2] most known for his contemporary fantasy book series The Dresden Files. ... This article is about the television series. ... Rick Deckard is the central protaganist and main character in Ridley Scotts 1982 science-fiction film, Blade Runner. ... This article is about the 1982 film. ... Takeshi Kovacs is the prime character of the books Altered Carbon, Broken Angels, and Woken Furies by Richard Morgan, which take place several centuries in the future. ... Richard Morgan (b. ...

Detective debuts and swansongs

Many detectives appear in more than one novel or story. Here is a list of a few debut and swansong stories: For other uses, see Swan Song. ...

Roderick Alleyn is a fictional character: the hero and detective from Ngaio Marshs novels. ... Ngaio Marsh DBE (April 23, 1895 - February 18, 1982), born Edith Ngaio Marsh was an author and theatre director from New Zealand. ... Michael Connelly (born July 21, 1956) is an American author of detective novels, notably those featuring Hieronymus Harry Bosch. ... Michael Connelly (born July 21, 1956, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American author of detective novels, notably those featuring Detective Hieronymus Harry Bosch. ... The Father Brown stories by G.K. Chesterton, Penguin Books edition 1981 Father Brown is a fictional detective created by English novelist G. K. Chesterton, who stars in 52 short stories, later compiled in five books. ... Gilbert Keith Chesterton (May 29, 1874–June 14, 1936) was an influential English writer of the early 20th century. ... The Blue Cross is a short story by G. K. Chesterton. ... Donna Leon, Warsaw (Poland), September 27, 2005 Donna Leon (born September 29, 1942) is an American author of a series of crime novels set in Venice and featuring the fictional hero Commissario Guido Brunetti. ... Brother Cadfael is the fictional detective in a series of murder mysteries by the late Edith Pargeter writing under the name Ellis Peters. ... Edith Mary Pargeter (September 28, 1913 - October 14, 1995) was a prolific British author of works in many categories, especially history and historical fiction, and was also honored for her translations of Czech classics; she is probably best known for her murder mysteries, both historical and modern. ... Albert Campion is a fictional character in a series of detective novels and short stories by Margery Allingham. ... Margery Louise Allingham (1904-1966) was born in London and attended The Perse High School for Girls in Cambridge, before returning to London and the Polytechnic for Speech-Training. ... The Crime at the Black Dudley is a crime novel by Margery Allingham, first published in 1929, in the United Kingdom by Jarrolds, London and in the United States by Doubleday Doran, New York. ... Elvis Cole is a fictional character in a series of Robert Crais detective novels. ... Robert Crais (born 1953) is a contemporary American author of detective fiction. ... The Monkeys Raincoat is a novel by Robert Crais. ... Dr. Phil D’Amato is a fictional NYPD forensic detective who has a penchant for strange cases. ... Paul Levinson, 2002 Paul Levinson (b. ... Dr. Phil D’Amato is a fictional NYPD forensic detective who has a penchant for strange cases. ... Peter Decker is a fictional Los Angeles police lieutenant in a series of mystery novels by Faye Kellerman. ... Born in St. ... This article or section needs copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone and/or spelling. ... Jonathan Kellerman (born August 9, 1949) is an American clinical psychologist and prolific writer. ... For the film, see Nancy Drew (2007 film). ... Carolyn Keene is the pseudonym of the author of the Nancy Drew mystery series, and also The Dana Girls mystery series, both published by the Stratemeyer Syndicate. ... The Secret of the Old Clock is the first book in the Nancy Drew mystery series by Carolyn Keene. ... Marcus Didius Falco is an endearing character in the novels of Lindsey Davis. ... Lindsey Davis, historical novelist, was born in Birmingham, England in 1949. ... The Silver Pigs is a crime novel by Lindsey Davis. ... Kate Fansler is the main character in a series of fourteen mystery novels written by Carolyn Gold Heilbrun under the pseudonym Amanda Cross. ... Carolyn Gold Heilbrun (born January 13, 1926 in East Orange, New Jersey; died October 9, 2003) was an American academic and feminist author who also wrote mystery novels under the pen name of Amanda Cross. ... Doctor Gideon Fell is a fictional detective created by John Dickson Carr. ... The Four False Weapons (1948), 1961 Pan paperback edition. ... Edmund Crispin was the pseudonym of Robert Bruce Montgomery (sometimes credited as Bruce Montgomery) (October 2, 1921—September 15, 1978) an English crime writer and composer. ... This article is about the London magistrate. ... Bruce Alexander is an English actor, perhaps most famous for his portrayal of Superintendent Mullet in the ITV television series A Touch of Frost produced by Yorkshire Television in the United Kingdom, in which he acted as the superior of the main character Detective Inspector William Jack Frost, played by... Blind Justice was an American television series about a blind New York City police detective, created by Steven Bochco. ... Gordianus the Finder is the fictional protagonist of Steven Saylors Roma Sub Rosa series of mystery novels set in Republican Rome. ... Steven Saylor (born March 23, 1956) is an American writer of historical novels. ... Harley Hartwell, known as Heiji Hattori (服部 平次 Hattori Heiji) in the original Japanese anime and manga, is a character of the anime and manga Case Closed, known in Japan as Detective Conan ). Harley/Heiji is voiced by Ryo Horikawa in the original Japanese and Kevin M. Connolly in the English dub. ... Gosho Aoyama ), born Yoshimasa Aoyama ), is a manga artist born June 21, 1963 in Daiei, Tottori Prefecture, Japan. ... Serialized in Weekly Shōnen Sunday Weekly Comic 漫畫周刊 Neoz Original run 1994 – Volumes 59, 630 chapters (as of November 26, 2007) TV anime Director Kenji Kodama, Yasuichiro Yamamoto Studio Tokyo Movie Shinsha (TMS) Network NTV, Yomiuri TV, Animax Original run 8 January 1996 – ongoing Episodes 488 (as of November 11... This article is about Arthur Conan Doyles fictional detective. ... Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (May 22, 1859 - July 7, 1930) is the British author most famously known for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes, which are generally considered a major innovation in the field of crime fiction. ... A Study in Scarlet is a detective mystery story written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and published in 1887. ... Jimmy Kudo, shown in his regular form (top) and his Conan Edogawa form (bottom) Jimmy Kudo, known as Shinichi Kudo ) in the original Japanese anime and manga, is the main character of the anime and manga Case Closed, known in Japan as Detective Conan (名探偵コナン Meitantei Conan). ... Gosho Aoyama ), born Yoshimasa Aoyama ), is a manga artist born June 21, 1963 in Daiei, Tottori Prefecture, Japan. ... Serialized in Weekly Shōnen Sunday Weekly Comic 漫畫周刊 Neoz Original run 1994 – Volumes 59, 630 chapters (as of November 26, 2007) TV anime Director Kenji Kodama, Yasuichiro Yamamoto Studio Tokyo Movie Shinsha (TMS) Network NTV, Yomiuri TV, Animax Original run 8 January 1996 – ongoing Episodes 488 (as of November 11... Susan Elizabeth George (born February 26, 1949) is the American author of a number of mystery novels set in Great Britain. ... Margaret Rutherford as Miss Marple Jane Marple, usually known as Miss Marple, is a fictional character appearing in twelve of Agatha Christies crime novels. ... Agatha Mary Clarissa, Lady Mallowan, DBE (15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976), commonly known as Agatha Christie, was an English crime writer of novels, short stories and plays. ... The Murder at the Vicarage (published in 1930) is a detective fiction novel by Agatha Christie, the first novel to feature the character of Miss Marple. ... Sleeping Murder is a novel by Agatha Christie. ... Cheryl Kaye Tardif (born August 12, 1963 is a Canadian mystery author best known for her novels Whale Song[1], Divine Intervention[2], and The River[3]. Her stories feature prominant Canadian locations and characters, and each novel carries a theme, message or combination. ... Travis McGee is a fictional character created by American mystery writer John D. MacDonald. ... John Dann MacDonald (July 24, 1916 – December 28, 1986), writing as John D. MacDonald, was an American writer best known for his series of detective novels featuring protagonist Travis McGee. ... The Deep Blue Good-by was the first of 21 novels in the Travis McGee series by American author John D. MacDonald. ... The Lonely Silver Rain is a 1985 novel by John D. MacDonald which concluded his 21-novel Travis McGee series. ... Sir Henry Merrivale is a fictional detective created by Carter Dickson, the alter ego of John Dickson Carr. ... John Dickson Carr (November 30, 1905 _ February 27, 1977) was a prolific American-born author of detective stories who also published under the pen names Carter Dickson, Carr Dickson, and Roger Fairbairn. ... The Plauge Court Murders is the first Sir Henry Merrivale mystery, by the American writer John Dickson Carr (1906-1977), who wrote it under the name of Carter Dickson. ... Kinsey Millhone (born 5 May 1950) is a fictional female private investigator created by Sue Grafton, and is the protagonist of Graftons alphabet mysteries series of novels. ... Sue Taylor Grafton (born April 24, 1940 in Louisville, Kentucky, USA) is a contemporary American author of detective novels. ... Morse (left) as played by John Thaw in the television adaption (with Kevin Whately as Lewis (right)). Detective Chief Inspector Morse is a fictional character, who features in a series of thirteen detective novels by British author Colin Dexter, though he is better known for the 33 episode TV series... Norman Colin Dexter, OBE, (born 29 September 1930 in Stamford, Lincolnshire) is the English author of the Inspector Morse novels. ... John E. Stith is an American science fiction author. ... Bernard J. Taylor Bernard J. Taylor is the writer and composer of six stage musicals that have been produced around the world and translated into German, Romanian, Polish, Hungarian, Spanish and Italian. ... Thursday Next is the protagonist in the series of novels by Jasper Fforde. ... Jasper Fforde (born in London on 11 January 1961) is an English novelist. ... The Eyre Affair, published in 2001, is the first novel published by Jasper Fforde. ... Stephanie Plum is a fictional character and the protagonist in a series of novels written by Janet Evanovich. ... Janet Evanovich (born April 22, 1943, in South River, New Jersey) is an American writer. ... Poirot redirects here. ... Agatha Mary Clarissa, Lady Mallowan, DBE (15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976), commonly known as Agatha Christie, was an English crime writer of novels, short stories and plays. ... The Mysterious Affair at Styles is a detective novel by Agatha Christie. ... Curtain: Poirots Last Case is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club in September 1975 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company later in the same year. ... Frederic Dannay (left), with James Yaffe (1943) Ellery Queen is both a fictional character and a pseudonym used by two American cousins from Brooklyn, New York: Daniel (David) Nathan, alias Frederic Dannay (October 20, 1905–September 3, 1982) and Manford (Emanuel) Lepofsky, alias Manfred Bennington Lee (January 11, 1905–April... Frederic Dannay (left), with James Yaffe (1943) Ellery Queen is both a fictional character and a pseudonym used by two American cousins from Brooklyn, New York: Daniel (David) Nathan, alias Frederic Dannay (October 20, 1905–September 3, 1982) and Manford (Emanuel) Lepofsky, alias Manfred Bennington Lee (January 11, 1905–April... Jack Reacher, commonly known simply as Reacher, is a fictional character created by author Lee Child. ... Lee Child accepting Barry Award Lee Child (born 1954, Coventry, England) is a British thriller writer currently living in New York City with his wife Jane, daughter Ruth, and a dog named Jenny. ... Killing Floor is the debut novel written by Lee Child and published in 1997 by Putnam. ... James Lee Burke (born December 5, 1936) is an American author best known for his mysteries, particularly the Dave Robicheaux series. ... James Lee Burke is an American author best known for his mysteries, particularly the Dave Robicheaux series. ... Spenser (played by Robert Urich) and his girlfriend Susan Silverman (played by Barbara Stock) on the former television series, Spenser: For Hire. ... Robert B. Parkers novel Cold Service Robert B. Parker (born September 17, 1932) is an acclaimed American writer of detective fiction. ... ... Sara Paretsky (b. ... Early paperback edition cover of Murder Must Advertise Lord Peter Death Bredon Wimsey is a fictional character in a series of detective novels and short stories by Dorothy L. Sayers, in which he solves mysteries — usually murder mysteries. ... Dorothy Leigh Sayers (Oxford, 13 June 1893 – Witham, 17 December 1957) was a British author, translator, student of classical and modern languages, and Christian humanist. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Busmans Honeymoon is a 1937 novel by Dorothy L. Sayers, her eleventh (and last) featuring Lord Peter Wimsey. ... Bitter End — Carl Mueller illustrated Rex Stouts first Nero Wolfe novella for The American Magazine (November 1940) Nero Wolfe is a fictional detective, created by the American mystery writer Rex Stout, who made his debut in 1934. ... Rex Stout, full name Rex Todhunter Stout, (December 1, 1886 - October 27, 1975) was an American writer best known as the creator of the larger-than-life fictional detective Nero Wolfe. ... Fer-de-Lance is the first Nero Wolfe detective novel written by Rex Stout, first published by Viking Press in 1934. ... A Family Affair is the final Nero Wolfe detective novel by Rex Stout, published by the Viking Press in 1975. ...

Books

• Bloody Murder: From the Detective Story to the Crime Novel - A History by Julian Symons ISBN 0-571-09465-1
• Stacy Gillis and Philippa Gates (Editors), The Devil Himself: Villainy in Detective Fiction and Film, Greenwood, 2001. ISBN 0-313-31655-4

See also

• Crime fiction
• List of Ace Mystery Double Titles
• List of Ace Mystery Letter-Series Single Titles
• List of Ace Mystery Numeric-Series Single Titles
• List of crime writers
• List of detective fiction authors
• Mystery fiction
• Whodunit
• Japanese detective fiction
• Inverted detective story

It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with mystery_fiction. ... Ace Books published 135 mystery Ace doubles between 1952 and 1965 in dos-a-dos format. ... Ace Books have published hundreds of mystery titles, starting in 1952. ... Ace Books have published hundreds of mystery titles, starting in 1952. ... Crime writers may include the authors of any sub-genre of crime fiction, including Detective fiction, Mystery fiction, or hard-boiled fiction. ... This is a list of Detective fiction authors. ... Mystery fiction is a distinct subgenre of detective fiction that entails the occurrence of an unknown event which requires the protagonist to make known (or solve). ... A whodunit or whodunnit (for Who done it? and sometimes referred to as a Golden Age Mystery novel) is a complex, plot-driven variety of the detective story in which the puzzle is paramount. ... Japanese detective fiction is a popular genre of Japanese literature. ... An inverted detective story, also known as a Howcatchem, is a murder mystery fiction structure in which the commission of the crime is shown or described at the beginning, usually including the identity of the perpetrator. ...

References

The Life and Times of Cotton Mather, by Kenneth Silverman. ...

External links

• Classic Crime Fiction Website
• Private Eye Writers of America website
• Most Honored Mystery Books
• The Golden Age of Detective Fiction Wiki
• All About Agatha Christie
• Sherlock Holmes Cases A compilation of some of the most famous Sherlock Holmes cases. Original stories adapted from the Gutenberg project
• Cozy Mystery reading list

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